A property’s full market value is the amount of money that a knowledgeable and willing buyer will offer to a knowledgeable and willing seller who will accept it when neither party is pressured to do so. Such sales are said to be arm’s length sales. A property’s assessed value is the value placed on the real property for tax purposes.

Cities and counties collect real estate taxes from homeowners that are calculated according to the assessed value, which takes into consideration the full market value of a property as well as the equalization rate of the municipality.

The equalization rate in the City of Schenectady is determined by the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS). Equalization seeks to measure the relationship of locally assessed values to an ever-changing real estate market. In order to distribute school district or county taxes among municipalities, the level of assessment must be equalized.

This year, the equalization rate is 1.18 or 118% of the fair market value of real property. What this means is that if you have a home that has a fair market value of $100,000 your assessed value and the value for which you pay taxes is actually $118,000. You can find this information on the 2017 tentative assessment roll published on May 1st, 2017.

Copies of the assessment roll can be found at the Schenectady County Office Building on the third floor, in the City of Schenectady Assessment Bureau, City of Schenectady Clerk’s Office, and on the City of Schenectady website. City of Schenectady website.

Each year, municipalities around New York State participate in the grievance period. This is a time where residents of a municipality can grieve the assessed value of their real property, not the taxes that they pay. The grievance period begins on May 1st when the tentative assessment roll is published and continues until close of business the 4th Tuesday in May or Grievance Day (this year it is May 23th).

Completed and signed applications must be turned in to the Assessment Bureau by close of business on Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017. Applications can be found in the Assessment Bureau, Room 8 in City Hall or the New York State Tax and Finance website. online (PDF).

You will receive an outcome letter from the Board of Assessment Review by the printing of the final assessment roll on July 1st, 2017.

Please note that the Board of Assessment Review is only required to provide you with the results of the outcome and these results may not include an explanation. The staff members of the Assessment Bureau are not privy to the deliberations of the Board of Assessment Review and will not be able to explain the results to you.

If you have a 1, 2, or 3 family owner occupied (you live there) home used solely for residential purposes in the City of Schenectady, you may file for the Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) process. To participate in this process, you must file with the Schenectady County Clerk’s Office within 30 days of the printing of the final assessment roll (July 1).

You may have someone represent you for this process and must sign the petition to state that. If you own any other type of property in the City of Schenectady, you may hire an attorney and file a tax certiorari proceeding in State Supreme Court. You must have filed a grievance with the Board of Assessment Review in the City of Schenectady in order to take advantage of either of these processes. Additionally, you cannot ask for a value that is less than what you asked for in the grievance process.

Yes, with your written permission, someone may file an application on your behalf as well as represent you at the Grievance Day hearing. There is a place on the grievance application where you can sign stating that you give permission to someone to represent you. It can be anyone from your son, sister, or next door neighbor to an attorney of your choice. As long as you have given permission for them to do so, they may be your representative.

Unfortunately, the staff of the Assessment Bureau cannot fill out the application for you. When you grieve your assessment the grievance is against the Assessment Bureau, therefore the burden is on you, the taxpayer, to determine how the application is to be filled out and what information is needed to plead your case.

A staff member from the Assessment Bureau may assist you by providing the grievance instructions from the Office of Real Property Tax Services (ORPTS), answering general questions related to the grievance period, or photocopying information from the tentative assessment roll. Please note that photocopies can be made for $.25 a page in the office but the tentative assessment roll can also be found on the City’s website.

It is important to understand the difference between the full market value and the assessed value of your property. The City of Schenectady does not have homestead vs. non-homestead tax rates. You may not grieve the loss of an exemption unless you had applied by taxable status day (March 1) and were denied the exemption.

If you had an extenuating medical situation that prevented you from applying by the March 1 deadline (for Enhanced STAR exemption only), please ask a member of the Bureau of Assessment about your situation. Please make sure to read the directions thoroughly before preparing your application. The instructions for the grievance application can be found on the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance website. (ORPTS) website.

A grievance application is filed with the Assessment Bureau and it is a grievance against the work done by staff members in the Bureau. The Assessor will not be able make any changes to the tentative roll once it is printed.

In order to make sure the process is fair and equitable, taxpayers will have the opportunity to speak with the Board of Assessment Review on May 23rd, 2017, which is also called Grievance Day. The Board of Assessment Review is a panel of public officers independently appointed by the Mayor and the Schenectady City Council. The members of the Board of Assessment Review provide a system of checks and balances for the work of the Assessment Bureau.

When you turn your completed and signed grievance application in to the Assessment Bureau, you will receive a receipt stating that we received the application as well as a numbered ticket allowing you or your representative to attend the hearing on Grievance Day.

The Board of Assessment Review will meet from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23rd with a 1 hour break for lunch and for dinner. The Board members will hear any and all of the grievances that are filed with the Assessment Bureau from May 1st until the end of that day.

In ticket number order, petitioners will be given 3 minutes to present their case to the Board of Assessment Review. There may be a brief question and answer period with the Board after the case has been presented. At this point, you have completed your role in the grievance process.

No, you do not have to attend Grievance Day, but it does give you an opportunity to plead your case, in person, with the panel making the determination in your situation. Not attending the Grievance Day hearing will not have any bearing on the outcome of your case. You will not be made of aware of the outcome of your case at this time.

The FOIL definition of records is very broad and includes information found in paper and electronic documents and audio and visual recordings. All records are available upon request, unless an exception in FOIL permits an agency to deny access to a record. See Public Officers Law § 87 (2).

Most of the exceptions are based upon common sense and the potential for harm that would arise if the record were disclosed to unauthorized people. If disclosure of a record would be damaging to an individual or prevent a government agency from carrying out its duties, it is likely that some or all of the record may be withheld.

Keep in mind that many records can be found on the City website and do not require a FOIL request.

Subject Matter List

Affirmative Action & Advisory Committee

Job listings

Documents relating to employment statistics

Documents relating to discrimination and harassment complaints

Animal Control

Appearance tickets

Informations relative to animal incidents

Incident reports

Assessment

Documents relating to the assessed value of properties

Property inventory records

List of tax exempt properties

Maps

Bureau of Receipts

Documents relating to the general fund budget

List of taxable properties

Documents relative to tax bill

City Archives

City directory and scrapbook collections

Collections from local labor unions, civic organizations, public schools, and businesses

The Mayor's Office has a complaint packet that we can mail to you or you can pick up in the office. You will need to fill it out and return it to the Mayor's Office. From there the office of Internal Affairs will investigate and contact you.

You will need to fill out the Street Closing Permit form obtainable under the Mayor's Office link. There is a $10 fee associated with this permit. If you are serving alcohol you will need to apply for a separate permit that costs $75. You will also need to contact the Parks Department at 518-382-5151 ext 6 to reserve your date which also has a fee associated with it.

If you can get a dumpster completely onto your property (dumpsters cannot be placed on the sidewalk) then no you do not need a permit. If you have to put the dumpster in the road yes you will need a Dumpster Permit. You can get a Dumpster Permit through the Department of Engineering, Room 205, City Hall.

Please Note: This permit is issued through the Department of Engineering but permission must first be given by the Signal Control Department. Their phone number is 518-382-5065. They will fax their approval to our office. We also require a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming the City of Schenectady as additionally insured on file in our office before the Dumpster Permit can be issued. (Homeowner should call their insurance carrier for the Certificate of Insurance.

Yes. In order to lower the curb to put in a driveway you need to obtain a Curb Cut Permit from the Department of Engineering, Room 205, City Hall. The application for this permit includes a small diagram of your property with measurements. We also require a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming the City of Schenectady as additionally insured to be on file in our office and a $50 fee. (Homeowner and/or contractor should call their insurance carrier for the Certificate of Insurance.)

Please Note: While the Curb Cut Permit is issued through the Department of Engineering, you may also need a permit from the Building Inspector’s Office. For more information, please call 518-382-5050.

Yes. In order to have anything that hangs into the City right-of-way you must have a Revocable Permit. The Revocable Permit application can be picked up in the Department of Engineering, Room 205, City Hall. The application includes a small diagram of your property with measurements. We also require a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming the City of Schenectady as additionally insured to be kept current and on file in our office and a $100 fee. Upon approval by the City Council the Revocable Permit shall be issued.

Please Note: Before the Revocable Permit can be issued, you must have a Building Permit from the Building Inspector’s Office and permission from the Zoning Officer.

Yes, if a property owner shall be using asphalt, concrete, brick, or other nonporous material on the property they will be required to apply for the Nonporous Permit which you can find on the Engineering Page.

Yes. You can get the application for a Sidewalk Permit at City Hall, Department of Engineering, Room 205. The application includes a small diagram of your property with measurements. We also require a Certificate of Liability Insurance naming the City of Schenectady as additionally insured to be on file in our office and a $50 fee. (Homeowner and/or contractor should call their insurance carrier for the Certificate of Insurance.)

There are 2 answers to this question. If it is a pothole, then you should call the Bureau of Service - Street Department at 518-382-5120. If it is an area where a ‘street cut’ had been made then you should call the Department of Engineering at 518-382-5082 so that we can inform the company who made the ‘street cut’ to repair.

You have several options. You can mail the ticket back to the address listed on the ticket. Be sure to follow the directions listed on the ticket. Please do not enclose cash. A money order or personal check will be accepted. You can also pay by phone with a mastercard or visa.

Please call 518.382.5211 then press "0". Please call between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Another option is to respond to the Schenectady Police Department's Traffic Division and pay the ticket in person.

You can do this between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

You may also pay a parking ticket on this website on our parking page.

The traffic division is located at 531 Liberty Street. Again, mastercard and visa are accepted.

It is the home owner’s responsibility to repair and maintain the water and sewer laterals as per Chapter 255-30 of the City Code, which reads as follows:

"The owner of property into which water is introduced by a service pipe will be required to maintain, in perfect order, at his own cost and expense, said pipe from the corporation cock or street main to his own premises, including all fixtures therein provided for delivering or supplying water for any purpose, and the curb box must be kept in view and the top thereof even with the sidewalk or street grade at all times and in a serviceable condition. In case such service and fixtures are not kept in repair, the water may be shut off from the premises until the requirements of this section are complied with, or the Director of the Department of Water and Wastewater may arrange for the necessary repair to conform to this section and charge the cost thereof to the owner of the property at which this section is violated and collect such cost from the owner of such property and shut off the water from such property until such charges are paid."

Please Note: Should the Bureau of Service determine that the blockage is not in the main but in the lateral, there will be a charge of $150 to the homeowner as per Chapter 220, Part 1, Article I, Section 4 of the City Code.

1. When the City finds a service leak, (depending on how bad the leak is) the homeowner will receive a “Leak Notice” via mail and is expected to have it repaired by a licensed plumber, within 7 days of receipt of the letter.

2. If the leak persists for more than 7 days, the property owner will receive an official “Water Shut-off Notice” and the water will be shut off on the date that is specified in the letter unless arrangements have been to repair the leak and the City has been notified.

Please Note: It can take anywhere from 7 to 20 days for this entire process to take place.

No. Some municipalities do not require plumbers to be licensed. The City of Schenectady does require them to be licensed. It protects both the City and the homeowner against shoddy or substandard work. A current listing of licensed plumbers is available upon request from Plumbing Inspector.